2 Men Playing Pokémon Go Victims of Assault, Attempted Robbery: Sheriff

LAKEWOOD, CA - With the fever over Pokémon Go in full effect, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Thursday reported that two men who had just played the augmented reality game were victims of an assault and attempted robbery in Lakewood.

Detectives learned that two men were walking home about 2:40 a.m. Wednesday near South Street and Clark Avenue after the playing the game on their cell phones when a tan four-door vehicle, possibly a Chevrolet Impala, pulled alongside them, officials said.

"A male black passenger exited the vehicle and approached the victims with a black handgun," according to a sheriff's department statement.

The gunman demanded the victims' property, but one of them charged the suspect and fought for the firearm.

The suspect struck the victim several times in the face with the gun before running back to the vehicle.

The driver then steered the car toward the victims in an apparent attempt to run them over, the sheriff's department reported.

The two men were not hit and the vehicle was last seen heading west on South Street.

The suspect was described as 18-25 years old, 5 feet 10 inches tall with a thin build and short hair. No description of the driver was available.

Pokémon Go is an app released this month that allows players to compete in hunts for virtual Pokémon anime characters that can be spotted in real world settings through smartphone cameras.

— City News Service, photo via Shutterstock